A new Canadian study revealed that black-tailed prairie dogs have an unusual method of alerting their friends of danger — a Mexican wave, or “jump-yip.”
Researchers at the University of Manitoba described the contagious behaviour as “testing the emergency broadcast system.” As soon as one prairie dog does the wave, others in its pack do the same, seemingly to verify that they’re paying attention and that there is no danger.
Initially, the team thought the wave was a sign of no immediate threat.
“The conventional wisdom is that it’s an ‘all clear’ signal,” Jim Hare, the study’s lead researcher.
However, when Hare noticed that the “jump-yip” also happened in front of potential predators, the team investigated further. The signal was found to be similar to someone asking “Are you paying attention?”
Hare’s paper is titled “Catch the wave: prairie dogs assess neighbours’ awareness using contagious displays.” The results are reported in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.
Contagious behaviour, of course, isn’t unique to these prairie dogs. Yawning and laughter are known to be contagious in groups of people.
